Donald Trump accuses Obama of orchestrating protests and leaks against him

Donald Trump has accused former president Barack Obama and his “people” of organizing the demonstrations that have roiled city streets, airports and town halls during the first weeks of his presidency.

In an interview with Fox and Friends, which will air on Tuesday morning in the US, he also suggested Obama and his allies were behind the leaks of classified information from the White House to the press.

There is no evidence that the former president has had any hand in either activity.

Trump was asked by the Fox interviewer whether he believes Obama is involved in organizing protests, including the recent spate of raucous Republican town hall meetings, and “if he is, is that a violation of the so-called unsaid president’s code?”

“No, I think he is behind it. I also think it’s just politics. That’s just the way it is,” Trump said in the pre-taped interview, a portion of which was released on Monday night.

Trump continued: “You never know what’s exactly happening behind the scenes … I think that President Obama’s behind it because his people are certainly behind it.”

Republicans and rightwing media outlets have accused the former president of directing the demonstrations though a group called Organizing for Action (OFA), a progressive group that grew out of Obama’s presidential campaigns. It is chaired by Jim Messina, who was Obama’s deputy chief of staff during his first term and his campaign manager during the 2012 election.

-The Guardian